Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 2, “Lux,” is a delightfully meta outing that’s just plain fun. It’s chock-full of thrills, plot twists, action and compelling performances. I love that we’re revisiting the Pantheon and that Mrs. Flood remains an enigma. This is the first time we’ve seen her pop up in a different period. So, what is she? She also teases May 24, so Belinda’s kidnapping is clearly linked to the potential destruction of Earth.
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Doctor Who, “Lux”
We open in a theater in Miami in 1952. Attendees munch on popcorn while learning about the atomic bomb. Reginald Pye (Linus Roache) operates the projector. He makes a cup of coffee before placing the spoon he used on the table. Reginald sets a timer and searches for a new film for the audience to watch. He settles on a cartoon featuring the character of Mr. Ring-A-Ding.
While Mr. Ring-A-Ding (Alan Cumming) sings, a beam of moonlight shoots into the projector room from the skylight, making contact with the spoon. Some timey-wimey stuff happens, and that light combines with the projector footage to absorb through the screen. It fuels Mr. Ring-A-Ding. He breaks the fourth wall to address the audience, doing a 180 from his previously sunny demeanor.
He orders the theater attendees not to make him laugh as he increases significantly in size and proceeds to crawl out of the screen. Mr. Ring-A-Ding looms over the audience as they scream. How ominous.
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Vindicator
Later, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) attempts repairs on the TARDIS as Belinda (Varada Sethu) brainstorms ideas for getting her home. Our titular Time Lord remarks that the TARDIS keeps bouncing off May 24. Something happened that day. He builds a vortex indicator from scratch while asking Belinda about her life. Her father is an accountant, and her mother is a violinist. Belinda asks why they can’t take the TARDIS to the Doctor’s planet, “Timelordia,” for a maintenance check. The Doctor corrects her on the name of his homeworld and simply tells her they won’t go to Gallifrey today.
After this, the Doctor’s vortex indicator — “vindicator” — is complete. This machine emits a signal that’ll act as a fishing hook for the TARDIS, pulling them from wherever they land to May 24, 2025. So, the Doctor lands them in Miami in 1952. He shows Belinda his extensive wardrobe (15 is nothing if not fashionable) and the two burst out of the TARDIS in 1950s-appropriate dress. They look snazzy.
Miami, 1952
The Doctor notes that it’s 4 am in Miami while he sets up the vindicator to send the signal. Then, he becomes distracted by a nearby theater with massive chains on the doors, almost as if it’s containing a deadly beast. Our Gallifreyan and Belinda note the flowers outside the door and a notice from the police to keep the theater locked.
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Belinda tries to nudge the Doctor back into the TARDIS, but he has his hearts set on solving this mystery. He’s the Velma of Doctor Who. After this, they decide to get coffee at the diner across the street. The young man behind the counter, Logan (Lewis Cornay), reveals that 15 people went missing three months ago in that theater. Initially, Reginald was arrested, but the authorities couldn’t find anything linking him to their disappearance.
Reginald has remained in the theater ever since, running films in perpetuity. Logan gestures to Renée Lowenstein (Lucy Thackeray), whose 16-year-old son Tommy Lee is among the missing. Logan decides to overlook “the rules” so Belinda and the Doctor can chat with Renée. Belinda is perplexed by this until the Doctor reminds her about segregation during this time. They’re breaking the law simply by being there.
Hope Can Change the World
Then, Renée tells the Doctor and Belinda all about her son. She informs them about the police searching the theater repeatedly and finding no trace of Tommy Lee or the others. The Doctor asks if the authorities have tried conducting their search at night — things are different at night. Renée has been sitting in the diner day in and day out, waiting for her son. The Doctor comforts her, dispensing valuable wisdom: “Hope can change the world.”
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After this, the Doctor persuades Belinda to accompany him into the haunted cinema with an old caretaker. The Doctor destroys the chains on the back doors with his sonic screwdriver. Once inside the auditorium, our dynamic duo calls out for Reginald. Reginald is in the projector room, mouthing to them through the window to leave. He knows what comes next.
Suddenly, Mr. Ring-A-Ding himself appears. He bursts into his signature song. However, he’s onstage sans film, making our inherently inquisitive Time Lord all the curiouser. He realizes that Mr. Ring-A-Ding is a live cartoon, complete with his own soundtrack. Belinda asks if he’s supposed to be a man or something else, considering he has a snout.
Harbinger of Chaos
Mr. Ring-A-Ding incessantly tells the pair not to make him laugh. Why? What happens when he laughs? “It sounds like this,” Mr. Ring-A-Ding replies. We hear that familiar, sinister arpeggio, which Maestro made famous last season. The marquee on the theater, which says “The Harvest Bringer,” transforms into “Harbinger.” Lux is actually Lux Imperator — a harbinger for the gods of chaos.
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However, Lux introduces himself as the god of light, “the dazzle at the heart of the Pantheon.” The Doctor urges Belinda to run right as Reginald plays Mr. Ring-A-Ding’s cartoon. This means Lux must perform the song and dance. He’s temporarily trapped.
The Doctor uses his sonic to open the door to the projector room. He thanks Reginald for buying them time. Reg claims they were supposed to leave. He gives our time-traveling duo some backstory. Reg was married for two decades. Unfortunately, his wife was struck by a car and died from her injuries.
The Magic and the Moonlight
However, Lux brought Reg’s wife back, bringing her to life via film. We see a scene of them dancing in the theater. This is why he hasn’t fled from Lux yet. There’s an emotional component to this.
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The Doctor explains the gods of the Pantheon to Belinda and Reg, comparing humans — and himself — as children in the grand scheme of things. Then, the Doctor and Belinda find the missing 15 people. Lux has entrapped them in a filmstrip, immortalizing them.
After Lux, who’s weakened from a lack of light to fuel him, clambers up the stairs to the projector room, he bursts through the door. He threatens Reg before the Doctor orders him to explain how he got here and why he’s trapped 15 people. The Doctor reveals that Lux is duty-bound to tell him the truth. As it turns out, the combination of Reg’s spoon (not the first time a spoon has been relevant on Doctor Who) and the moonlight gave Lux an entry point to infiltrate the Mr. Ring-A-Ding cartoon.
Immortalized on Film
As for the mass kidnapping, who wouldn’t want to be immortalized on film? Now, they’ll live forever. Lux turns two massive projectors on the Doctor and Belinda, entrapping them on film as well. Sure enough, our pair next appears in animated form, looking like they belong in the ’70s version of Scooby-Doo. Love that Scooby-Doo is a running gag in this episode.
Our intrepid pair makes themselves three-dimensional by confessing sad truths. Belinda admits the Doctor scares her, and his life is terrifying. The Doctor adds context regarding Gallifrey. He reveals that his homeworld is gone, and that he’s the last of his kind. After looking like themselves again, the Doctor observes that while they look real, they’re still in a cartoon. He makes a remark about being framed, which is peak dad joke.
The Doctor and Belinda decide to break the frame by pulling on the film reel as fast as possible to fall out of it. They land back in the auditorium; however, something’s amiss. Renée approaches them with a police officer. She points out the Doctor, claiming she believes he’s not who he says he is. The cop remarks that this theater is for white people only. Racism sucks.
You’re on TV
Next, the Doctor realizes they’re still in the film reel when he observes that the officer is wearing an NYPD uniform. They’re in Miami. Suddenly, Belinda and the Doctor are back in the white space in the film. The Doctor believes that scrolling up and down isn’t working. They must move out.
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So, our pair walks forward slowly. Then, they push on the glass, crawling out of a TV. We see they’re in the living room of three massive Doctor Who fans. Seriously, their space is a smorgasbord of Easter eggs (don’t worry; I’ll link to my Easter eggs piece). Hassan (Samir Arrian), Lizzie (Bronté Barbé) and Robyn (Steph Lacey) greet them enthusiastically. They adore our eponymous Time Lord and his new companion.
The Doctor learns that his adventures have been adapted into a TV series. Oh, I love a good bit of meta humor. He asks the trio about their favorite Doctor Who adventure. All of them answer unequivocally, “Blink.” The Doctor reminds them about the Goblins and that he’s met The Beatles. What about “Boom”? Nope, “Blink” is where it’s at. I’m guessing this is a nod to Steven Moffat, which makes me happy.
Blink Out of Existence
Lizzie reveals (as “The Sad Man With a Box” plays) that they’re not real. Lux is using Lizzie, Robyn and Hassan to thwart the Doctor and Belinda. Once the Doctor defeats Lux, they’ll blink out of existence. However, they encourage the Doctor to triumph over his foe. Robyn remarks that the solution to this narrative is so obvious. Sure, they can’t burn Lux because he’s made of light, but what can’t he do?
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The Doctor and Belinda bid farewell to the fans after they express their hope that our duo will think about them from time to time. Sure, fans can be annoying, but without them, shows like this wouldn’t exist.
Next, after returning to the film reel, the Doctor proposes they stop the film itself. Celluloid burns when it stops. This works, and the Doctor and Belinda wind up back in the auditorium, no longer bound by film. Belinda tries to tend to the burn mark on the Doctor’s hand, but he heals it with his bi-generation energy.
Let There Be Light
Unfortunately, Lux sees this, realizing the only way he can become tangible is to absorb the Doctor’s bi-generation energy. Lux uses filmstrips to ensnare the Doctor, hoisting him up. Then, he accesses the Doctor’s bi-generation energy. Belinda has to act fast.
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The Doctor urges Belinda to trust him now more than ever because he’s a Time Lord. He knows what time it is. Belinda runs to the projector room and asks Reginald for matches. She knows he smokes. Inside the room, Reg’s wife tells him she loves him and hands him the box of matches. Reg emerges, deciding to do the act himself. Not for the first time today, Belinda is told to run.
So, Reg sets the storage space full of film reels on fire. It explodes, also taking out the projector room. RIP, Reginald Pye. The Doctor is freed, although weakened from giving some of his bi-generation energy to Lux. During his transformation, Lux becomes massive — and creepy-looking, at some points. The hole in the wall of the theater reveals that it’s daybreak. Lux absorbs the sunlight, becoming even bigger. Eventually, he grows so large that he touches the atmosphere and floats into space, becoming one with the cosmos. He’s now a god.
A Happy Reunion (and a Warning)
The Doctor unlocks the front doors as the 15 missing people reappear. He and Belinda watch them reunite with their families. Renée embraces her son. Belinda turns to the Doctor, vowing that they can face their fears together. Aw.
Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) unexpectedly shows up. She urges Renée and Tommy Lee to watch the TARDIS as it vanishes from view. “Limited run only. Show ends on May the 24th,” she says. Uh-oh.
Once the credits roll, Lizzie, Hassan and Robyn rate the episode. As it turns out, they’re still alive. No “blinking” out of existence for them. Huzzah!
Doctor Who Season 2 airs on Saturdays at 3 am EST/12 am PST on Disney+ and 8 am BST on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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